SmartLab Toys Mission Critical: Mars Cooperative Space Adventure Board Game

This was a game for our grandkids. The premise and set up are great, but after ordering this game twice the battery operated “control center” still malfunctioned.

I picked this one up as a discount item, which a little searching has shown me that's usually how people seem to get ahold of it. It's an interesting game...you play as a crew of astronauts on a mission to Mars. Each astronaut has his/her own bio, but they play identically. The crew performs "Mission Tasks," such as routine maintenance, running training drills, or testing equipment. These Mission Tasks ensure the shuttle is in prime condition and give you extra time to land the shuttle when you finally arrive. Each astronaut's health is also monitored in 3 categories: hunger, stress, and fatigue. At the beginning of each turn, you roll an 8-sided movement die. 3 of those 8 sides will increase one of those attributes (the tradeoff is they let you move 5 spaces for that turn). The other five sides feature less movement but no health loss. Health can be replenished at stations near the shuttle cockpit.So far, so good. As you might expect for such an ambitious mission, things go wrong and emergencies develop. The game simulates this with a talking, battery operated "Command Computer." Every few minutes, a siren goes off and the computer will announce which of your various systems are failing. Each astronaut must man a section of the ship to address the emergency. When each is in position, a die roll simulates repair. The only way to fail is to run out of time.Yes. Did I mention that the mission is timed? The time limits are very tight, too. The instructions say to drop everything when the alarm goes off, and you'll probably fail a few of them before you get the hang of it. I did the first run-through at the "1" difficulty level and found the game so challenging I thought I'd inadvertently selected the hardest level. I hadn't...4 is much harder, with more emergencies and even less time.Some of the emergency tasks also have a health requirement, meaning that an astronaut who is too worn out cannot perform certain tasks at all. Since each astronaut is needed to address each emergency, she will have to perform a task in a different part of the ship (which may not be possible within the time limit), or quickly rest and recharge (good luck with that!). Fail four Emergencies and the ship will explode (the Mission Computer keeps track of damage). Younger children or new players might benefit from removing the computer from the game or pausing it whenever an emergency siren sounds.The actual gameplay is pretty bare-bones. Just rolling dice and moving. The talking ships computer, with its warnings, sirens, continuous space noise, and posh British-lady voice, really ups the intensity. It kind of almost ups the intensity too much, really. This isn't a game you can leisurely relax as you play, which is what a lot of people will be looking for in a board game, though. It ends up being sufficiently immersive and intense, though, that you can forget the simplicity of the gameplay.There's a lot of flavor text, which is impossible to read while playing, but adds atmosphere and fun between missions. The game has a good deal of strategy, too. You'll want to complete as many Mission Tasks as you can, but you NEED all of your astronauts in peak condition when the landing finally arrives (it'll be the last emergency, and it's game-over if you fail it).The intensity and stress of playing the game almost classes it right out of what looks like it's target audience of young children with a healthy scientific curiosity. It's not a game for those who are discouraged easily. Still, there's a lot of good game and some interesting fun to be had if you stick it out.